Advances in wireless communication technologies have resulted in an exponential increase in the demand for improved computing devices, consumer services, and communication bandwidth. To accommodate this growing demand, device manufacturers, service providers, and various intermediary entities, have worked to simplify network access control. Generally, network access control involves a subscriber attempting to gain access to a network service(s) by providing credentials to an authenticating network service provider for verification. In a scenario where the network service provider successfully verifies/authenticates the access identity of the subscriber based on the credentials provided, a corresponding level-of-access to network service(s) is granted for the subscriber.
Many global telecommunication service providers issue subscriber identity module (SIM) cards to their subscribers (or potential subscribers) to allow individual subscribers to insert the physical SIM card within their user equipment (UE) device(s) for the purpose of gaining access to the provider's network services, in accordance with a subscriber's service level agreement (SLA). A SIM (which may also be referred to as a USIM, ISIM, CSIM, etc. for different radio access technologies) is a component application of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) “smart card,” where the SIM and UICC can be referred to together as a SIM card. In function, the SIM component securely stores an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), along with various cryptographic keys and other credentials, which can be used for network authentication.
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) have been responsible for standardizing many hardware-based and software-based features, and improvements thereof, for SIM cards and devices. The GSMA proposed the use of an embedded UICC (eUICC) for cellular connectivity in various devices. While telecommunications service providers have tended to prefer the use of physical SIM cards for various practical reasons, including facilitating hot-swapping between different MNO SIM cards in a mobile device. Activation of an MNO SIM card usually occurs via a secure data connection through the MNO's cellular wireless network; however, when the mobile device in which the MNO SIM card is not located within range of the MNO's cellular wireless network, such as when roaming on a visited cellular wireless network, activation of the MNO SIM may be unavailable when cellular data roaming capability is disabled.